Mayors, chairpersons to get more financial powers

Chandigarh: After attempting to please the representatives of panchyati raj institutions (PRI) by granting financial powers and other facilities to sarpanches, CM Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP govt in Haryana is now eyeing representatives of urban local bodies, especially mayors of municipal corporations (MCs).
Urban local bodies department has also planned to reimburse the usage of personal cars with a capping of 2,500 kilometres per month.
There are seven MCs and 18 municipal councils in the state where civic body polls are pending. Since the tenure of former CM and serving Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar, elected bodies had been demanding more administrative and financial powers in addition to provision of reimbursements for use of personal vehicles for official purposes.
Sources said a proposal has been made for authorising chairman, mayor, senior deputy mayor and secretaries of civic bodies to sign bills. At present, bills are signed by administrative officers, who could be commissioners, executive officers and secretaries.
ULB department has forwarded the proposal to chief minister office (CMO), which is expected to give its go-ahead to the proposal. “If required, it could be part of agenda items to be discussed during the cabinet meeting on July 12. Thereafter, the CM will make announcements at an appropriate time,” said an official at CMO.
Last week, Saini had bent the government stand of empowering sarpanches. He had announced the execution of development workers sanctioned by sarpanches without e-tendering. He had also sent a message done the line in bureaucracy to treat PRIs as small govts. As a result, there had been incidents wherein sarpanches were given more importance by deputy commissioners.